Of Steel & Stone
by 2ns
Summary: Sokka scowled. "Are you here to talk some sense into me?" Toph snorted in derision. "Nope. This is a tavern—I'm here to drink." Toph comforts Sokka days after Suki's murder and convinces him to turn down a new path. Sokka comes close to murder himself when confronted with the cause of Suki's death. Hurt/comfort. This will eventually turn towards Tokka.


I own no part of Avatar: Fan fiction only.

Of Steel and Stone: Chapter 1

Sokka was a mess. Katara had tried to get through to him, Aang had tried, even Zuko had tried, to which Sokka had jeered, "You can't fix this one with a field trip!" and flung half a jug of ale at the Fire Lord. In desperation, Katara had appealed to Toph, who had spent the entire week uncommonly taciturn.

Toph rolled her eyes. Katara must really be desperate if she was hoping she could get through to Sokka. Toph leaned in the doorway of the tavern listening with her feet. Sokka was the only customer at this late hour, and he'd been here for nearly two days following Suki's funeral. Sokka's back was to her, and Toph imagined that he was looking out the window, watching the moonrise. Toph padded on silent feet across the bamboo planks to the bar.

Nodding at the barman, Toph quietly commanded, "Take a walk."

"But—"

Toph leaned over the bar, tipped her head and narrowed her vacant eyes into an expression she'd learned from experience seemed to intimidate. "Do you know who I am?" she hissed.

The barkeep stopped wiping his glass, took a step back, and drew a deep, shuddering breath. "Yes, Sifu—"

Toph slammed a hand down on the greasy bar, and he jumped. Toph had to raise up on her toes to manage it, but she leaned into his face. _Thank goodness he's a lizard-vole of a man_. "Then take a _damn walk!"_

Toph turned her face as though following his retreat as he skittered from the bar through a back door.

"The famous Beifong charm never fails to impress."

Toph turned towards Sokka's table. She kicked out the chair across from him and dropped into it, slamming both feet onto the corner of the table and crossing her ankles.

Sokka scowled. "Are you here to talk some sense into me?"

Toph snorted in derision. "Nope. This is a tavern—I'm here to drink."

"About time—someone who gets me. Where have you been all my life?"

 _Right under your nose!_ Toph sighed as Sokka pushed a pitcher of ale across the table, and it sloshed into the remains of his supper, the ale beading on a pool of solid grease at the bottom of the bowl. Toph selected one of the discarded tankards and poured in ale. Taking a sip, she noticed that the barkeep had been heavily watering the ale, no doubt on Katara's orders, and that the lip of the cup tasted the way Aang smelled, of the wind, fresh-cut grass, fruit, and woodsmoke.

" _Aang_ drank with you?"

Sokka barked with laughter. "He _tried_. Mostly, his eyes watered and he looked like he was swallowing Momo. I think that's when Katara asked the barman to start watering the ale."

Toph hmph'ed appreciatively, and got straight to the point. "Do you want me to kill Ty Lee for you?"

Sokka snorted. "You know, you're the first person who has offered any worthwhile suggestions in two days." He sighed and leaned back in his chair, pulling a heel up into the seat. Toph didn't think he was inebriated, just keeping up the pretense to keep everyone else out of his face. "That little minx has been nothing but a nuisance since the first time we laid eyes on her. Honestly, I think even Mai was well shut of her when Suki brought her back here to be one of the Kyoshi Warriors. We brought her into our home, and look how she repaid us!" Sokka slammed his tankard down on the table, making the cutlery rattle.

"What happened?" Toph already knew, more or less, but she had Sokka talking, and she knew this would keep him going.

"Ty Lee happened," Sokka spat. "For years, she's been the bed of damn near every man on this island, and she tried more than once to work her charms on me, even after Suki and I were married. Suki always let her go—honestly, I don't think she knew what to do with her.

"I try to keep my students well away from Ty Lee, but she's been seeing one of them, Cheng Lei, for some time. He's been working himself up to proposing for weeks. Well, about a week ago, Cheng Lei caught her wrapped around some big Fire Nation bloke and took it into his mind to defend Ty Lee's _honor_ , such as it is. Suki tried to intervene, and got a knife in the back for her troubles." Sokka traced the line of a jagged scar across the back of his knuckles.

"It was an unlucky throw, and he wasn't aiming for Suki at all. She stepped in to separate Cheng Lei and Ty Lee and never saw it coming. Most often, when you throw a blade at someone's back, you'll catch a rib. Sure, it hurts, but you aren't going to _die_ from it. This guy was drunk, but damn near all four inches of that filthy blade went right into Suki's kidney. She died of infection and blood poisoning within hours. The doctor tried taking out the kidney to save her, but she was too far gone. I only had a few minutes with her before she passed," Sokka finished bitterly.

"Where is he now?"

Sokka waved a hand disconsolately. "Gone. He ran as soon as he saw what he had done. Cheng Lei told me he saw the guy's face, and the guy was horrified. He knew what he had done the moment it happened. Apparently he apologized over and over as he backed out of the bar, but no one stopped him."

Toph sighed. "He had to know that if the Kyoshi Warriors ever got their hands on them, he'd never see the inside of a jail cell, little lone a trial."

Sokka shrugged. "Maybe, but it doesn't matter now. Cheng Lei tried to commit seppuku in shame, so I've got him locked up in a cell back at the school. Ty Lee has had the sense to stay well away from me. As far as I'm concerned, she as good as put that blade into Suki herself."

Toph tapped a ragged fingernail against the half-full tankard. _That swill isn't worth half the effort it takes to swallow it._ She grimaced in distaste and pushed it away with the finger. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

Toph tipped her chair back and folded her hands over her belly, considering Sokka. "You're not going to keep sitting her sucking this swill down." Toph nodded in the direction of the pitcher of watered ale. "Aang and Zuko want me to see what I can do with the sorry lot that pretend to keep order in Republic City—the crime rate is completely out of control. I'm in the process of moving my school there . . . come with me."

"I can't just leave! My wife just died! I have a school of my own!"

"Move 'em or leave 'em—I'm not particular. If you stay here, you'll either drink yourself into an early grave, murder Ty Lee, or both." Toph waved a hand vaguely, indicating the island in general. "This was never your place—your home was with Suki. Suki is gone, and there's nothing left to tie you to this place."

Toph snapped the front legs of her chair to the floor and stood. "I'm leaving in a week. Pull yourself together and pack." She laid a hand tenderly on Sokka's shoulder, and softened her voice as she bent to speak into his ear. "Believe me, your grief will travel with you, but it will never lose its bite if you have to pass Suki's marble tomb every day on your way into your school." Toph straightened. "Hakoda has begged you to take his council seat for years. Katara can't do it as the wife of the Avatar. By all means, mourn your wife, but do it with your family in Republic City. Hakoda is there, Aang, Katara, and the kids are there, I'm going there. It's time for you to come home. Oh, and Sokka?"

Sokka looked up from the dregs in his tankard. "Yeah?"

Toph leaned back over him and sniffed ostentatiously. "You stink—take a bath. Not even Appa will haul your sorry carcass smelling like that, and you're nuts if you think I'm dragging you the long way 'round."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Katara folded her arms and glared at Toph. "You offered to kill Ty Lee and told him he _stank?_ How is that going to help?"

All Katara could see of Toph were her filthy feet and her legs swinging lazily over the arm of the bench. "Is he still drunk in the tavern?"

Katara huffed. "Well, no, but that's not the point!"

Toph sat up, swinging her feet onto the floor. "That's the _entire_ point. You said to do something—I did. Not everyone is Aang and needs to be coddled—"

"Hey!" Aang protested indignantly. "I'm right here!"

Toph shrugged an apology. "Sokka stopped drinking, stuck his head in a rain barrel, and is packing as we speak. You want him to move back to Republic City? Done. You should be thanking me, Katara."

Katara rounded on Aang and gestured at Toph, sputtering wordlessly. Aang held up his hands in defense. "What do you want me to say? You wanted Sokka to sober up and pull himself together—you got it. Why are you so upset?"

"Of course! Take her side!"

Aang had heard enough from both women. Being between the two of them had never done him any favors, and it wasn't likely to today either. He stood, took Katara's hand, and pulled her to his side. "Toph, have a good night. You'll let Sokka know we'll see him in the morning?"

Toph waved them out and laid back on the bench, pillowing her head on her arm.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

It was near midnight when Toph felt Sokka's front door silently open and a pair of light feet bound across the floor.

"You put one pretty painted toe on that bottom step, and I'll make sure not even the Mechanist can make you walk again."

Toph still laid on the bench, her legs dangling over the arm rest, but she had slept with the palm of her right hand planted firmly on the terra cotta tiles that spread across the floor of Sokka and Suki's home. With a flick of her left hand, Toph whipped Sokka's sword from its scabbard where it hung from a peg by the hearth and leveled it inches from Ty Lee's throat.

"How _thoughtless_ of Sokka to forget to sweep out the _mud_ before he went to bed." Ty Lee smirked, folding her arms below her breasts and tipping her hips to show off her curves to their best advantage, forgetting that Toph was unlikely to be either impressed or intimidated by the flaunting her allure.

Toph sat up slowly, carefully, only relinquishing her grip on the stone tiles after setting a foot on the floor. She stood cautiously, stepping into a narrow stance, and snapped her wrist, causing the sword to twist and angle sharply down towards Ty Lee's heart. She wanted Ty Lee focused entirely on that blade and not on skipping around the room to get close enough to block her chi.

"If you were so concerned about Sokka, you'd be upstairs _comforting_ him."

Toph raised her eyebrows at the insinuating taunt in Ty Lee's voice. _She_ is _brazen_. "Is that what you came for? To comfort a man whose wife lays stone cold for trying to prevent your lovers from slaughtering one another over you? Or did you think you finally had a chance at him with Suki out of the way?"

Ty Lee took another quick step towards the stairs, and Toph swung the sword around, taking a precise three inch slice across her chest just below the hollow of her throat. Ty Lee hissed, and Toph smirked. "You take one more step, and I'm going to take one of your ears. I'll nail it over the door of my new school in Republic City." Toph raised her right hand and flicked it away, sharply jerking the long gold earring that dangled from Ty Lee's ear. "I'll be sure to leave the earring attached, so everyone will know it's yours. It's time for you to go."

"You touch me with that blade again, and you'll have to answer to Sokka and the Avatar for it."

Toph laughed, the kind of laugh that comes up from the soles of your feet. "Answer to the _Avatar?_ You know, Ty Lee, the benefit of being the most powerful Earth Bender in the world is that I don't have to answer to _anybody_. As for Sokka, you're lucky he has more restraint than I do—I think he'd gladly see you weighted and tossed into the sea. Aang may have an aversion to ending useless people who are in desperate need of it, but _I don't_. And besides, Aang isn't here. _I_ am."

Ty Lee took another evasive step, back towards the door, but closer to Toph. Toph could feel the muscles of her legs tighten, and she knew Ty Lee was considering making a leap towards her. Toph took a step towards the stairs and jabbed Ty Lee in the throat with the tip of the sword, though not hard enough to draw blood this time.

Ty Lee tried another tack, her voice simpering. "I just want to apologize to Sokka. I know he's leaving with you in a few days, and there are things that need to be said between us."

Toph continued pacing towards the stairs, Ty Lee circling to match her. "I doubt that, but how about you tell me, and I'll pass on the message."

Even through the floor, Toph could feel Ty Lee's little girl pout. _Who does that act work on?_ "We've been _such_ good friends for so many years . . . It just seems a shame to leave things like this," Toph snorted. "and I was hoping Sokka would release Cheng Lei so we could be married. What happened to Suki really wasn't Cheng Lei's fault."

"No, it wasn't." Sokka's voice preceeded him down the stairs. His hand fell heavily on Toph's shoulder when he reached the bottom, but she didn't retract his sword. Instead she jerked Ty Lee's earring again, hard, towing her towards the exit.

Sokka scowled with distaste as his eyes travelled over Ty Lee, and he was grateful Toph couldn't see what she was wearing, although he thought she could probably guess. Ty Lee's sea-foam green shirt was made of a gauzy, nearly transparent material that clung to her body and draped low over her bosom. The sleeves, though reaching to her wrist, had been fashioned so that they draped open seductively between shoulder and wrist, allowing the skin of her long, soft arms to show. Her trousers had been similarly constructed, such that they covered little more than they revealed. Catching his eye, a sly smile warmed her lips and she twisted her body, swaying like a reed enticingly. Holding his gaze, Ty Lee reached out a finger tip and slid it slowly up the blade of Sokka's sword, one brow arched in invitation.

Her expression may have been wasted on Toph, but the intent was not. Toph felt Ty Lee's touch on the blade as though it ran across her own skin, and she shivered in revulsion. "Ugh. Sokka, she's got nine more fingers—I'd personally consider that one a spare."

Sokka stepped forward and snatched his sword from where it hung suspended in mid-air, disgusted that Ty Lee would defile it with her touch. He roughly grabbed Ty Lee's arm and spun her, planting a bare foot in the small of her back and propelling her back towards the door. He strode around her as she stumbled theatrically and nearly ripped the door from its hinges as he yanked it open.

Ty Lee turned to face him, her lovely ruby lips open in what was likely meant to be some sort of complaint over her treatment or plea for another chance, tears glittering on her lashes. The words withered on her tongue when Sokka loomed over her, rage radiating from him, his eyes narrowed in hatred.

"How dare you come into my home, dressed like a harlot, intent on trying to seduce me only days after you managed to get my wife murdered, insult one of my closest friends, and then dare suggest you are concerned for the welfare of my student?" Sokka grabbed Ty Lee by the upper arm again, hard enough to nearly snap the bone, and shook her until Toph could hear her teeth rattle from the other side of the room. "If I _ever_ see you again," Sokka shook her again, "not even _Aang_ will be able to stop me from pouring every drop of your foul blood out. You find yourself some little hole in the Earth Kingdom and you _rot_ there. Zuko won't have you set a foot in the Fire Nation, and you'll find no welcome in the Water Tribes either. When I cross my threshold in the morning, you'd better be gone from Kyoshi Island."

Sokka pushed her out the door and slammed it in her face. He turned and flung the sword at the hearth, and the heavy hilt clanged against the tiles, the blade sparking against the stone of the hearth. He roared in rage, sweeping the table over, a jug of water smashing on the floor and apples dumped from a wooden bowl rolled away, fetching up against the wall under the furniture.

Toph backed against the wall, crossing her arms and waiting, content to let him destroy the room if it would vent his rage and grief. She heard a chair smash into splinters, and several earthenware vessels shattered against the walls before he had regained control and slid down the wall next to her, sobbing. Toph sighed with relief . . . _finally_ , he was ready to mourn his wife.

When Toph sat, Sokka wrapped his arms around her delicate frame and buried his face into her shoulder. She winced as he squeezed her ribs hard enough to crush the air from her, but she held on to his shoulders as he shuddered, waiting for him to exhaust himself.

After what seemed like hours, Sokka drew a shuddering breath and said, "Spirits, Toph, I _loved_ her, and she's _gone_."

In that moment, Toph's heart cracked, and tears streamed down her face. She rubbed Sokka's broad back consolingly, pushed back his hair as though he was a child. "I know, Sokka. I know."

Eventually, Sokka's delayed grief had spent itself, and he laid down on the floor, resting his head on his friend's lap before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

That's where Katara found them in the morning. She opened the door carefully, trying to be quiet as the door pushed the debris from the previous night's destruction. Katara had brought with her some small boxes which she layed aside as she picked her way across the room to kneel by Toph, who sat with both legs splayed out in front of her, one arm draped across Sokka's shoulders as he snored quietly on her thigh.

Katara murmured, "Do you want me to help you move him so you can get some rest?"

Toph shook her head. "I'm fine—I'll just stay put until he sleeps it off. What brings you so early?"

"I came to pack up Suki's precious things. The house will always be here if he wants to return, but Sokka forged some very beautiful jewelry for her, and she had a few other personal items he asked me to take away to Air Temple Island for safekeeping—her fans and weapons, pictures, and the like." Katara reached out and smoothed a stray lock of hair back from Sokka's face. "You were right. When you told him it was time to come home and to leave this place behind, I thought you were being cruel. I didn't think that he would want to leave the place where his wife was laid to rest. But if Aang dies before me?" Katara's lip trembled, and a tear escaped to trail down a cheek. "I can't imagine walking the halls of an Air Temple without him beside me."


End file.
